This section outlines employee entitlements to night shift differential and premium pay for holiday and Sunday work. This section applies to you if you are a prevailing rate employee, regardless of your Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) status.

* See Section C, Basic Overtime Policy, of this Guide for information on basic overtime entitlements.

This section does not apply to you if you are a GS, GM, or AD employee, regardless of your FLSA status.

Night Shift Differential At a Glance

Coverage: All prevailing rate employees.

Exclusions: None.

Basis: The shift into which the majority of regularly scheduled nonovertime hours falls.*

T&A codes: All prevailing rate employees must have their shift suffix coded on the T&A report, even 1st shift employees.

* Night shift differential is paid for the entire shift when the majority of hours falls within the specified period. Majority of hours means a number of whole hours greater than ½ of a scheduled shift.

Example: As a prevailing rate employee, you have a regularly scheduled tour of duty of Monday through Friday, 2 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., with a 30-minute meal period between 6 and 6:30. You work the following schedule:

Are currently employed for a continuous period of at least 90 days under one or more appointments without a break in service.

Exclusions:

All other employees 1/

Amount is twice the hourly rate of pay 1/

Basis is nonovertime work on legal holidays

Paid absences are not applicable 2/

1/ All other employees are paid at the regular rate for work on a holiday. They receive no pay if they do not work on a holiday.

2/ Employees may only account for absences on holidays with administrative leave (TC 66).

Employees are entitled to holiday premium pay for nonovertime work performed on the holidays listed in Section F, Night, Holiday, and Sunday Premium Pay for General Schedule Employees, “What is the Rate of Pay for Holidays?” Employees are paid the applicable overtime rate for overtime work on holidays.

Example: You have a regularly scheduled tour of duty of Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a 30-minute meal break. You perform 8 hours of work on each day Monday through Friday of Week 1, and 8 hours of work on each day Monday through Thursday of Week 2. You are ordered to work on the second Friday of the pay period, a legal holiday, from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. You are paid as follows:

In every 4th year following the year of the Presidential election, January 20 is considered a legal holiday for premium pay purposes if you are scheduled to work in the Washington, D.C., area on that day, regardless of whether Washington is your official duty station. You are not entitled to holiday premium pay for nonovertime work on Inauguration Day if you work outside the Washington, D.C. area, regardless of whether or not Washington is your official duty station.

The Washington, D.C. area is defined as:

The District of Columbia,

Montgomery and Prince George's Counties (Maryland), and

Fairfax and Arlington Counties and the Cities of Alexandria and Falls Church (Virginia).

Am I Entitled to Holiday Premium Pay if the Location Where I Work has a “Local Holiday?”

You are not entitled to holiday premium pay for work on local, State, territorial, or foreign holidays. Although you may be granted excused absences (administrative leave) for local holidays, if you are required to work on one of these days, or another nonworkday established by administrative order, you are paid the straight-time rate for nonovertime work.

Example:You and your co-workers in the Summerville office are given excused absence (administrative leave) for a day because of a local holiday which causes your office building to be closed. A co-worker from your Summerville office is required to work at the office in Autumnville on that day. Your co-worker is not entitled to holiday premium pay because the local holiday is not a legal holiday for premium pay purposes.

Sunday Pay at a Glance

Coverage: Full-time and part-time employees.

Exclusions: Part-time and Intermittent employees.
Amount: 25% of the basic hourly rate.
Basis: Nonovertime work that begins or ends on Sunday*.

* Employees are entitled to a maximum of 8 hours of Sunday pay for each nonovertime shift worked that begins or ends on Sunday. Employees working under compressed tours of duty will receive Sunday pay for the number of scheduled hours worked on Sunday (e.g., 8, 9).

Can I Receive Sunday Premium Pay for Paid Absences?

You may be eligible for premium pay for Sunday work during periods of paid absences. The following table describes the types of absences covered: